Hydromulch container medium

ABSTRACT

A hydromulch container medium including a container and a root system disposed in the container. A hydraulically compactable mulch is interspersed between the root system and the container to form a semi-solid container medium around the root system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/861,329 filed Nov. 28, 2006, theentire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to plants in containers and morespecifically to a hydromulch container medium.

BACKGROUND

When a plant, such as a tree, a bush or a shrub, is harvested fortransplanting or transplanted from one place to another, it is advisableto leave a certain amount of soil around a root system of the plant.This network of roots and the soil clinging to the roots is known as aroot ball, no matter the size or shape. This root ball is necessary toprovide protection, moisture and nutrients to the roots.

Many growers start growing plants in containers rather than in theground, or transplant saplings or semi-mature plants from the groundinto containers to mature. Further, a plant may be transplanted fromsmaller containers into larger containers once the plant outgrows thesmaller container. Also, a plant may be transplanted from the groundinto a container for transportation to a local distributor or end user.In each instance, the root ball is usually maintained, but additionalsoil must be added to the container to fill any gaps and voids betweenthe root ball and the container to protect the roots and support theplant in the container. This soil may be a clean soil or may containvarious additives.

Plant containers come in various sizes to accommodate the root balls ofvarious size plants. For example, a three gallon container can be teninches in diameter and a fifteen gallon container can be seventeeninches in diameter. The root ball plus the amount of soil necessary tofill these containers makes the containers heavy. For example, asemi-mature Queen Palm tree, approximately 60 inches high, in a fifteengallon container may weigh around 80 pounds. The excessive weight makesthe plant difficult to move and transport, raising the risk of injuryfor those moving the plant. Further, the excessive weight makes theplant expensive to ship, as shipping costs increase with increasingweight.

Further still, soil in a plant container can be messy. The soil mayspill from the container during shipping and handling, often due tovibration that occurs during loading and transit of the plant. This maycause damage to the roots of the plant and/or spillage of soil from thetop of the container. Also, if enough soil spills from the container,the plant itself may shift in the container. Such shifting could damageroots, branches or surrounding plants. Spilled soil may also cause amess in the shipping vehicle, leading to safety concerns and cleanupcosts. If the plant is being transplanted indoors, for example, into ahotel or mall, any spilled soil may damage floors or carpets. Also,damage often occurs to the roots of the plant when removing the rootball from the container, as well as when moving the root ball to itsfinal location.

When transplanting a plant into a container, either from the ground or asmaller container, the extra soil may be added by a mechanized means or,more commonly, manually, both of which can be time intensive. For largercontainers, the container must be filled with soil and the plant is thenplanted into this soil. Depending on the number of plants to betransplanted, this may take considerable time and require many workers.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a hydromulch container medium and methodsof hydraulically applying a hydraulically compactable mulch, such ashydromulch, to a plant in a container, to provide a light, stablehydromulch container medium which nurtures and protects the roots of aplant and supports the plant in the container.

In general, in one aspect, the invention features a hydromulch containermedium, which includes a container with a root system disposed in it anda hydraulically compactable mulch interspersed between the root systemand the container. In embodiments, there is a drainage system in a lowerportion of the container.

In embodiments, the hydraulically compactable mulch is interspersedbetween the root system and the container by positioning the root systemin the container and filling the container around the root system withan aqueous mixture of water and the hydraulically compactable mulch. Thewater is then drained out of the container to hydraulically compact thehydraulically compactable mulch around the root system.

In certain embodiments, a dry bed of filler is positioned in thecontainer before the root system is positioned in the container. Theroot system is then positioned in the container on top of the dry bed offiller. In certain embodiments, the dry bed of filler is a dry layer ofthe hydraulically compactable mulch.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method forproducing a hydromulch container medium which includes positioning aroot system into a container. The container holds the root system and afiller material surrounding the root system. A hydromulch fillermaterial is then hydraulically applied into the container and thehydromulch filler material is dried to form a semi-sold root ball.

In certain embodiments, a dry bed of filler is positioned in a bottomportion of the container prior to positioning the root system into thecontainer. In certain embodiments, the dry bed of filler is a dry layerof the hydraulically compactable mulch.

In embodiments, hydraulically applying the hydromulch filler materialincludes filling the container around the root system with an aqueousmixture of water and the hydraulically compactable mulch. The water isthen drained out of the container to hydraulically compact thehydraulically compactable mulch around the root system.

In embodiments, the root system includes a root ball. In someembodiments, the root ball may be formed from soil. In otherembodiments, the root ball may be formed from hydromulch or acombination of soil and hydromulch. In some embodiments, the root systemincludes no soil.

In certain embodiments, the hydromulch includes additives such astackifiers, fertilizers and fungicides.

In embodiments, the container includes a drainage system through whichthe water can drain. In certain embodiments, the drainage systemincludes a lower portion of the container having at least one hole. Inother embodiments, the drainage system includes a semi-permeablematerial disposed over the hole.

In embodiments, the semi-solid root ball is removed from the container.In other embodiments, the semi-solid root ball is removed from thecontainer and a protective coating is applied around the semi-solid rootball. In certain embodiments, the protective coating may be agriculturalpolymer, burlap, canvas and/or a plastic sheet.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a plant in acontainer which includes a root system disposed in the container and ahydraulically compactable mulch compacted into and around the rootsystem to form a filler material to encapsulate the root system.

In embodiments, the hydraulically compactable mulch is hydraulicallycompacted into and around the root system by positioning the root systeminto the container. The container holds the root system and a fillermaterial surrounding the root system. An aqueous mixture of water and ahydromulch filler material is then hydraulically applied into thecontainer. The water is then drained out of the container tohydraulically compact the hydraulically compactable mulch around theroot system, thereby forming a semi-solid root ball. In certainembodiments, the semi-solid root ball is removed from the container anda protective coating is applied around the semi-solid root ball.

The invention can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. The hydromulch container medium is a semi-solid mass,leading to a more stable container package (e.g., minimal or no looseparticles) for transportation, handling and shipment. Damage to the rootsystem caused by normal handling and vibrations of transporting a plantare minimized or eliminated. The hydromulch container medium may be20-40% lighter than regular soil, thereby lowering shipping costsassociated with the weight of the product shipped. The weight reductionalso makes the container and plant easier to handle and move,particularly for an end user, such as a typical homeowner, who isattempting to handle and transplant the plant.

The semi-solid nature of the hydromulch container medium enables thetransport of the plant laid on its side, such as in a vehicle, withoutsoil coming out of the container and making a mess of the vehicle. Whenan end-user removes the plant from the container, the semi-solid natureof the hydromulch container medium enables a root ball to come outcleanly and protects the roots while the plant is being transplanted.

The semi-solid nature of the hydromulch container medium also enablestransport of the plant without the container. For example, the growermay remove the root ball with the hydromulch container medium from thecontainer, coat the root ball with an agricultural polymer and wrap theroot ball with plastic. This enables the grower to reuse the containers,thereby resulting in cost savings as well as less waste in the form ofdiscarded containers. This also enables easier installation by theend-user because the end-user simply removes the plastic wrap and placesthe plant in its final location. Further, because of the semi-solidnature of the hydromulch and the agricultural polymer, the root ball maybe rolled on the ground without damaging the plant roots.

The hydromulch mixture may be easily prepared with additional additives,which are more evenly dispersed throughout the mixture. The hydromulchmix retains and distributes moisture to the roots more evenly than soil.Further, the hydromulch mix is disease and microbe free, which helpspromote healthy plant growth.

Also, the time and labor necessary to fill a container with thehydromulch container medium is substantially less than to transplantwith soil. A large number of containers may be filled from a hydromulchmixing machine that simply pumps the hydromulch mix into the container.This method enables just two people to fill many containers with littlephysical exertion.

Other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thefollowing description, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a tree and its root system encapsulated in aroot ball.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of general steps to fill a container containinga root system of a plant according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cut-away view of an exemplary container including ahydromulch container medium according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cut-away view of an exemplary container including ahydromulch container medium according to another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a tree and its root system encapsulated in ahydromulch container medium according to another embodiment of theinvention.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a tree 5 includes a root system 10 having largerroots 15 and finer roots 20. The finer roots 20 are important to helpestablish the tree when replanted because these finer roots 20 growfaster and gather more water and nutrients than the larger roots 15. Thelarger roots' 15 primary purpose is to provide support and anchorage forthe tree 5, although they also gather water and nutrients for the tree5. As can be seen, the root system 10 is a complex mass of larger roots15 and finer roots 20.

When a tree 5 is removed from the ground or a container to betransplanted, the roots 15, 20 are generally left in a root ball 25composed of soil from where the tree 5 was taken. Even if a root ball 25is not maintained, soil will be trapped throughout the root system 10,unless the root system 10 is washed.

When a tree 5 is transplanted from the ground into a container, or fromone container to a larger container, a filler must be added to thecontainer to fill the space between the root ball 25 and sides of thecontainer to protect the root system 10 and support the tree 5 in thecontainer. The filler can be a hydraulically compactable mulch, such asa hydromulch product. Hydromulch is a ground-up wood fiber product,generally cleaned using a high heat process. The wood fiber may comefrom trees, wood pulp, paper pulp or any other cellulose product. Anexample of a commercially available hydromulch is EnviroBlend© HydraulicMulch, available from Profile Products LLC of Conover, Buffalo Grove,Ill. Because the wood fiber product is generally cleaned using a highheat process, the hydromulch is a clean product (e.g., contains nocontaminates or spores, such as insects, microbes, bacteria or fungi,which could cause damage to the plant's root system). The hydromulch orhydromulch mixture (described below) may also include tackifiers ashardening agents (such as Con Tack Organic© Tackifier, available fromProfile Products LLC of Conover, Buffalo Grove, Ill.), fertilizers orfungicides in a hydromulch mix to help nurture the tree 5 until it isreplanted in the ground.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an exemplary process of preparing a tree 5in a container 80 may include placing (50) a dry, solid bed ofhydromulch 85 on a bottom 90 of the container 80. The bed of hydromulch85 keeps the root system 10 and/or root ball 25 of the tree 5 off thebottom 90 of the container 80 and helps locate (55) the root system 10towards a top 92 of the container 80. Once the root system 10 isproperly located (55) in the container 80, a hydromulch mixture 30 ishydraulically applied (60) through a hose 29 into the container 80around the root system 10 and/or root ball 25, filling any voids betweenthe root system 10 and/or root ball 25 and the side 95 of the container80. The water in the hydromulch mixture 30 drains away from the rootsystem 10 and/or root ball 25 through openings 98 in the bottom 90 ofthe container 80. As the water drains away, the hydromulch in thehydromulch mixture 30 hydraulically compacts around the root system 10and/or root ball 25, thereby forming a semi-solid hydromulch containermedium. The hydromulch is thereafter permitted to dry (65) around theroot system 10 and/or root ball 25, thereby further compacting. If, asthe hydromulch dries, it shrinks and pulls away from side 95 of thecontainer 80, a hydromulch mixture may again be hydraulically applied(70) to fill the voids and thereafter be permitted to dry (75).Thereafter, the plant is set aside to allow the root system to furthercultivate through the hydromulch (e.g., root out).

In a specific example, a bed of dry hydromulch is placed on the bottomof a 15-gallon container (17-inch diameter). A semi-mature Queen Palmtree with a 10-inch root ball is placed into the container so that itsroot ball rests on the bed of dry hydromulch. A hydromulch mixture isprepared by mixing four bales of EnviroBlend© Hydraulic Mulch with300-gallons of water, which is approximately a 12.5:1 water to mulchmixture by weight. One pound of starch tackifier (e.g., Con TackOrganic© Tackifier) is then added to the hydromulch mixture. Otheradditives may also be added, such as liquid fertilizer and liquidfungicide. The hydromulch mixture is hydraulically applied into thecontainer until the container is filled. The water is drained from thecontainer through and around the bed of dry hydromulch and out openingsin the bottom of the container, enabling the hydromulch to hydraulicallycompact around the root ball. The bed of dry hydromulch helps preventthe hydromulch from also draining out of the openings in the bottom ofthe container. The moisture and the tackifier in the hydromulch mixturecause the bed of dry hydromulch to become part of the same final mass ofhydromulch container medium.

The hydromulch is dried and permitted to settle for approximately twodays. The hydromulch mix compacts tightly around the root ball, and maycreate small voids or gaps between the hydromulch and the side of thecontainer. If such voids or gaps appear, another hydromulch mixture isprepared by mixing two bales of EnviroBlend© Hydraulic Mulch with200-gallons of water, which is approximately a 16:1 water to mulchmixture by weight. A half-pound of tackifier is added to the hydromulchmixture as well. This hydromulch mixture is hydraulically applied intothe container until the container is filled. The water is drained fromthe container through and around the previously applied hydromulch andout holes in the bottom of the container, enabling the hydromulch tohydraulically compact around the first application of hydromulch. Thehydromulch is dried and permitted to settle for approximately two days.Afterwards, the plants are set aside for several months to allow theroot system to further cultivate in the container; i.e., allowing theroot system to root out throughout the hydromulch container medium.

Several containers with Queen Palm trees were prepared by this method.The containers were set aside and irrigated as necessary over threemonths. Over the three month period, the trees grew at a normal rate anddeveloped healthy root systems that grew throughout the hydromulch andfilled the containers. When removed from the containers, the hydromulchcontainer medium formed a semi-solid root ball that did not lose itsshape or shed any debris. These trees and containers weighedapproximately 50 pounds. While the size of the tree will have an effecton the overall weight, this represents a 35-40% weight reduction oversimilar Queen Palm trees planted in soil in 15-gallon containers.

Referring to FIG. 4, in another embodiment, a root ball 125 of a tree105 is placed on a bottom 190 of a container 180. A hydromulch mixture130 is hydraulically applied around the root ball 125 in the same manneras described above until the container 180 is full. Water in thehydromulch mixture 130 drains out of the container 180 through openings198 in the bottom 190 of the container 180, allowing the hydromulch tohydraulically compact around the root ball 125. The openings 198 aredesigned to permit the water to drain away from the container, whilepreventing the hydromulch from also draining out of the container. Thismay be accomplished by having small openings or having the openingscovered by a semi-permeable material that will permit the water to drainwhile retaining the hydromulch.

Referring to FIG. 5, in another embodiment, a tree 205 is prepared byone of the methods described above and the root system permitted to rootout into the hydromulch container medium, which roots typically willgrown to the sides of the container in which the plant is prepared. Thetree 205 may be removed from the container, which will result in ahydromulch root ball 135 around the root system (not shown). A solutioncontaining agricultural polymer and water may then be applied to thehydromulch root ball 135 to provide a biodegradable protective shell 140around the hydromulch root ball 135. For example, one (1) to one andthree-quarters (1¾) cup of agricultural polymer, such as E-Tack SoilControl Agent (available from Finn Corporation of Fairfield, Ohio), maybe mixed with 5-gallons of water to be applied to the hydromulch rootball 135. The agricultural polymer and water solution may be applied byany method, such as dipping the hydromulch root ball 135 into a vat ofthe solution or spraying the solution onto the hydromulch root ball.Agricultural polymer, such as thermal polyasparate or a combination ofpolyelectrolytes and polysaccharides, creates a semi-permeable layerthat, once dry, hardens into a biodegradable plastic-like layer.Thereafter, the tree 205 may be transplanted with the agriculturalpolymer protective shell 140 retained on the root ball 135. Theagricultural polymer protective shell 140 will biodegrade over a periodof time, while allowing water and nutrients to reach the root system.The hydromulch root ball 135 with the agricultural polymer protectiveshell 140 may be further wrapped with a ultraviolet (UV) protectiveplastic wrap before sale and/or transport of the plant. The end userwould only need to remove the UV protective plastic wrap beforetransplanting the plant with the hydromulch root ball 135 andagricultural polymer protective shell 140 directly into the ground. Thisembodiment has the advantage of being able to sell the tree 205 withouta container, but with a light-weight, protected root ball that can beplaced directly into the ground. Thereafter, the grower may reuse thecontainers to grow more plants, thereby reducing cost and disposables.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended toillustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is definedby the scope of the appended claims. Other embodiments are within thescope of the following claims. For example, while a tree has beendescribed, the methods described can be used equally well on bushes andother plants. Also, while specific brand name products have beendescribed, these specific products are not necessary to practice themethods described.

Further, while certain steps have been described, more or less steps maybe used. For example, the root system may contain soil or a root ballbefore being treated with the hydromulch mixture, or the root system maybe cleaned of all soil to produce a plant with a clean root system(e.g., no contaminates or spores, such as foreign insects, microbes,bacteria and fungi) for shipment to areas of the United States or theworld that prohibit foreign soil (i.e., soil from outside that area).

Further still, while a tree with a soil root ball has been described, atree previously prepared in a container with hydromulch may be removedfrom that container and moved to a larger container and again treated bythe above described procedures.

Also, while certain mixtures of hydromulch and water have beendescribed, other mixture ratios may be necessary with other plantshaving different root systems.

Further, because the hydromulch provides a stable root ball, the plantmay be removed from the container and wrapped in a plastic film orburlap cloth for shipping or sale to an end user. This would allow agrower to reuse the same containers several times, as well as eliminatethe difficulties an end-user may encounter while removing a root ballfrom a container.

Further still, the dry bed of hydromulch can be produced in any suitablemanner. For example, a container can be partially filled with ahydromulch mixture, the water in the hydromulch mixture permitted todrain away, and the hydromulch hydraulically compacted in place. Inanother embodiment, the dry bed of hydromulch can be produced in largesheets in other containers. The hydromulch mixture can be sprayed into alarge container, such as large, specially designed forms. The water isdrained to enable the hydromulch to hydraulically compact and dry. Thebed of hydromulch is then cut from these larger sheets as needed.

Also, although the dry bed of filler has been described as a dry bed ofhydromulch to keep the root system 10 and/or root ball 25 off the bottom90 of the container 80 and help locate the root system 10 towards thetop 92 of the container 80, any filler may be used as the dry bed offiller.

1. A hydromulch container system comprising: a root system disposed in ahydromulch container wherein the hydromulch container is a compactablehydromulch comprising a finely ground-up fibrous material in a nearliquid state hydraulically compacted under pressure around the rootsystem to encapsulate the root system without void spaces.
 2. Thehydromulch container system of claim 1 wherein a lower portion of thecontainer comprises a drainage system.
 3. The hydromulch containersystem of claim 1 wherein the compactable hydromulch is hydraulicallycompacted around the root system by: positioning the root system in thecontainer; filling the container under pressure around the root systemwith the compactable hydromulch; and draining the container.
 4. Thehydromulch container system of claim 1 wherein the compactablehydromulch hydraulically compacted around the root system furtherincludes a dry bed of filler positioned along a bottom surface of thecompactable hydromulch.
 5. The hydromulch container system of claim 4wherein the dry bed of filler is a dry layer of hydraulicallycompactable hydromulch.
 6. A method of producing a hydromulch containersystem comprising: positioning a root system into an outer container,the outer container configured to hold the root system and a hydromulchcomprising a finely ground-up fibrous material in an aqueous solution;hydraulically applying the hydromulch under pressure into the outercontainer and surrounding the root system; drying the hydromulch to forma hydromulch container system, said container system encapsulating theroot system with no void spaces between individual roots in the rootsystem; and removing the encapsulated root system from the outercontainer.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising placing a dry bedof filler into a bottom portion of the outer container prior topositioning the root system into the outer container.
 8. The method ofclaim 7 wherein the dry bed of filler is a dried layer of hydromulch. 9.The method of claim 6 wherein hydraulically applying the hydromulchcomprises: filling the outer container around the root system with thehydromulch; and draining the aqueous solution out of the outercontainer.
 10. The method of claim 6 wherein the root system is at leastpartially encapsulated in a root ball.
 11. The method of claim 10wherein the root ball is selected from the group consisting of soil,hydromulch and a combination of soil and hydromulch.
 12. The method ofclaim 6 wherein the root system includes no soil.
 13. The method ofclaim 6 wherein the mixture of hydromulch and water further comprisesadditives selected from the group consisting of tackifiers, fertilizersand fungicides.
 14. The method of claim 6 wherein the outer containerincludes a drainage system through which water can drain.
 15. The methodof claim 14 wherein the drainage system comprises a lower portion of theouter container having at least one hole.
 16. The method of claim 14wherein the drainage system comprises: a lower portion of the outercontainer having at least one hole; and a semi-permeable materialdisposed over the hole.
 17. The method of claim 6 further comprisingapplying a protective coating around the hydromulch container.
 18. Themethod of claim 17 wherein the protective coating is selected from thegroup consisting of an agricultural polymer, burlap, canvas and aplastic sheet.